The Marriage License
Previous episode: Pioneer Women Next episode: The Kleptomaniac http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/MarriageTree.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/BridalLucy.jpg Plot While cleaning out her old junk drawer, Lucy finds her marriage license. While lovingly reading the license, she notices that Ricky's last name is misspelled as "Bicardi." She worries that the license might not be legal because of this mistake, and she hurries downtown to get it checked. Meanwhile, Ricky finds out about this, and he has Fred tell a friend down at the license bureau to lie to Lucy and tell her the license isn't valid. Lucy comes home in tears, and she forces herself to spend the night at the Mertzes', not wanting to be alone with a man she's not married to. The next day, Lucy insists that Ricky drive up to Connecticut to re-enact how he first proposed to her before they get re-married. The romance of the original courtship is gone, and married Ricky now cares more about eating lunch than "feasting on Lucy's beauty." When it comes time to pop the big question, Ricky teases Lucy by pretending to think over the decision. Lucy is outraged and doesn't speak to Ricky for the rest of the night. The two check in to a local hotel whose manager, Mr. Willoughby, runs everything in town and wears a different hat for each profession. Ricky doesn't have any money for a hotel room, so Lucy goes up to her room and makes Ricky sleep on a chair in the lobby. The next morning, Ricky apologizes to Lucy and says how much he wants to marry her. Lucy goes upstairs and changes into her wedding dress. After Mrs. Willoughby's annoying rendition of "I Love You Truly," the wedding takes place, and Ricky and Lucy leave in a flurry of rice. Trivia *Having Ricky's last name as the typo "Bicardi" on the marriage license is an inside joke the writers threw in. Desi Arnaz's maternal grandfather was one of the original founders of the famous Bacardi rum factory. There is no known reason why the writers chose to spell "Bicardi" differently than the rum name, though. *Lucy and Ricky Ricardo got married at the Byram River Beagle Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, the same place where Lucy and Desi first got married in 1940. *Lucy fans will recognize the actor who plays Mr. Willoughby as also having played Ethel's father, Will Potter, in "Ethel's Home Town." They'll also recognize the actress who plays Mrs. Willoughby as having also played Mrs. Trumbull. *Mr. Willoughby serves as the town's fireman, gas station owner/attendant, hotel manager/front desk clerk, hotel bellboy, sheriff, and justice of the peace. Mrs. Willoughby is head of the license bureau and the mayor. *The day Lucy and Ricky got married, Ricky forgot his wallet at home. *It isn't clear why Ricky wants to play the trick on Lucy that their marriage license isn't valid. Lucy did nothing wrong or mischievous in this episode for Ricky to want revenge. And besides, for the time period of this episode, why would Ricky ever have wanted Lucy to think that she "lived in sin" and was not "pure" by having lived with a man without being married first?! And it wasn't at all silly of Lucy to question the validity of the license when she found the typo, because bureaucracy IS picky about the legality of such things. **Additionally, Ricky gets annoyed at Fred when Lucy refuses to stay in the apartment. He looks at him, and says in an unpleasant way: "You had to have a friend in the license bureau". Why is Ricky upset with Fred if Ricky was the one who played the prank. *This episode was the first episode of a TV show to ever be viewed by 10 million people. Quotes *Lucy: I'm sticky over Ricky! *Fred: I just got our out license and took a look at it. Some darn fool spelled MY name right! *Lucy: (to Ricky) I'm no longer yours to touch! *Ricky: (in hushed tones at sight of Lucy's wedding dress) Lucy, you look so beautiful! Will you marry me? Lucy: (quietly) Yes... *Ricky: Let me guess- YOU'RE head of the license bureau? Mr. Willoughby: No, smartie! Mrs. Willoughby: I am! *Mr. Willoughby: Do you forget, Mother, that I'm the sheriff?! Mrs. Willoughby: Do you forget, Father, that I'M the mayor?!﻿